Jaspers winner Grand Prix after quick knock-out in final

ROSMALEN - The multiple Grand Prix winner Dick Jaspers raised his status with the 63rd victory in his career this Saturday evening at De Hazelaar in Rosmalen. In the final against Glenn Hofman, an unexpected opponent, Jaspers won after a quick knock-out, a brilliant start and a generous score: 40-23 in 16 innings. The Dutch world number one leads the ranking of 16 Dutch players who will participate in the KNBB Jumbo Masters early next year (11-15 January). The draw was conducted after the Grand Prix final by KNBB Section chairman Paul Brekelmans. The third and final Grand Prix of this year brought some minor changes in the ranking. Glenn Hofman, who has returned from the PBA cycle in South Korea, finished his suspension and played his first tournament in the Netherlands again. The Hague player delivered an amazing performance: only by reaching a final place in this Grand Prix, he still could qualify for the Jumbo Masters. That mission succeeded, as victories over Barry van Beers, Raimond Burgman and Dave Christiani on the final day made Glenn Hofman's return for good.

With his rich palmares, 57-year-old Dick Jaspers was the only player who could keep 32-year-old Glenn Hofman from an even better success. The exhibition Jaspers delivered in his last two matches was too powerful for everyone. Jaspers ended his semi-final match against Jack Wijnen with winning runs of 13 and 9 and started his final match against Hofman with runs of 16 and 10 in the first four innings. Therefore, the Brabant star led 27-2 in innings. ''That was of course a fantastic start for me, I surely would have liked to finish it quicker as well, but after that start came incredibly difficult balls for both of us'', Dick Jaspers later looked back.

Jaspers confessed that he had not underestimated his Dutch opponents. ''I know how strong they can be, so I always have to be sharp.'' For Glenn Hofman, he had an encouraging word: ''He is back in the Netherlands and was eager to win. I made it almost impossible for him with such a flawless start and so many bad positions. He really couldn't help it that he couldn't get into the match.''

The final run-up to the final showcased one of the nicest matches of this Grand Prix in Rosmalen. 60-year-old Brabander Jack Wijnen, who had just earned his ticket for the Masters by his place in the semi-finals, started the match like a rocket against Dick Jaspers. The score was at13-2 for Wijnen after four innings, but then Jaspers started an improbable catch-up race. He got to 14-15 first, 18-15 a little later in 10 innings and went out at that score with two runs: 13 for a score of 31-16 and nine for the final score 40-16. In short, from 13-2 behind in four innings, Jaspers then produced 38 caroms in nine and Wijnen just three. That put Jaspers first in the final.

Glenn Hofman faced Dave Christiani on the other table with only one task: to win. It would provide the Hague player, who had started his only Grand Prix this year with 0 points in the rankings, with a last-minute place in the Masters after all. It turned into a superb battle between the two players: Christiani had the first strike with 8, Hofman answered almost immediately with 11 and from then on Hofman was the player in control. He led by 22-17, 32-19 and then saw Christiani fight back to 33-28 and 33-30. Hofman had the first chance to finish at 36-30, missed twice more and further increased the tension. At 39-38 for Hofman, Hofman missed a bankshot, Christiani missed a makeable zig-zag ball and Hofman was able to blow out the match with a harmonica.

The long day of knockouts with 16 players from the final preliminary stage started with a nice display by Joey de Kok. The young Zeeuw defeated the seasoned Zeeuw, who is defending champion at the Masters, in a straight game 40-19 in 22 innings. Jeffrey Jorissen was the best and most generous winner in that round with 16 against Therese Klompenhouwer with 40-15 in 17 (2.352). Dick Jaspers beat Raymund Swertz 40-26 in 17 (2.222), Glenn Hofman started his victory race in the knock-outs against Barry van Beers 40-25 in 23 and the most enthralling was Dave Christian against Jerry Hermans, which ended in 40-40 and was won by Christiani after penalties: 3-1.

Dick Jaspers ended Jeffrey Jorissen's illusions in the quarter-finals by winning 40-27 in 21 innings. Dave Christiani whirled past Jean van Erp in that round with eight with the best moyenne: 40-26 in 19, 2.105 average. The other two players for the semi-finals were Glenn Hofman, with a win over Raimond Burgman (40-33 in 28) and Jack Wijnen, the revelation, who beat Joey de Kok by 40-30 in 35 innings

The final ranking in the Grand Prix in Rosmalen was:
1 Dick Jaspers
2 Glenn Hofman
3 Dave Christiani en Jack Wijnen
5 Jeffrey Jorissen, Jean van Erp, Raimond Burgman, Joey de Kok.

The group format after the draw for the Jumbo KNBB Masters, the Dutch titelrace, played in the Benelux Theater in Berlicum 11-15th of January 2023:

Group A: Dick Jaspers, Kay de Zwart, Frans van Schaik, Raymund Swertz Group B: Jeffrey Jorissen, Barry van Beers, Jean van Erp, Glenn Hofman
Group C: Jerry Hermans, Raimond Burgman, Jack Wijnen, Therese Klompenhouwer
Group D: Adrie Demming, Jean Paul de Bruijn, Joey de Kok, Dave Christiani.